We adore ESPN sportscaster Neil Everett not just because he loves The Big Lebowski or because he hails from Portland, one of the most vegan-friendly cities on the continent, or for his lovable sense of humor and the fact that he has interviewed a duck. We love him 10 times more because he always roots for the underdog by advocating animal adoption.

Neil stopped by PETA’s Los Angeles Bob Barker Building with his canine family members, Pickle and Scooby, to chat with us about shelter “underdogs,” giving companion animals the love and attention that they deserve, and the dog and cat overpopulation crisis.